Kuramochi Yōichi
Kuramochi Youichi comes from Chiba prefecture. He is a student of Seidou High School and is the roommate of Sawamura Eijun and formerly, Masuko Tooru. He is one-half of the baseball team's keystone combo as well as one of the vice-captains. Character Kuramochi has a delinquent-like personality and is usually seen together with Miyuki. He likes playing pranksChapter 4 and often plays video games with his teammates in his dorm room after their daily training. Almost all his pranks are those what was done to them when they were still freshmen (eg. scary face entrance and over-eating before the evening training) He has little patience for Sawamura, often seen beating him or making fun of him during games. His appearance is rough, but he has a sensitive side to him and with that remarkable detection skills. He has discerned Tanba's resentment towards Miyuki, first noticed Ryousuke's injury and finally, noticed Miyuki's rib injury after the "accidental" crash.Kuramochi caught on to Miyuki's injury in chapter 365. Kuramochi is the fastest player on the team, sometimes running two bases in one play and has an easier time stealing due to his speed. He has been called '"invincible," but only if he gets on base. He is ambidextrous, throwing and batting on both sides. His behaviour around girls he finds attractive is in stark contrast to his normal behaviour After the semi-finals, he saw Wakana for the first time. After a brief misunderstanding with Sawamura over whether he was her boyfriend or not, He tried to flirt with Wakana with a suave, gentlemanly demeanor. Relationship with other characters Miyuki Kazuya Like all generations so far showed in the manga, Kuramochi considered Miyuki as his first rival (much like Jun vs. Yuki and Sawamura vs. Furuya). Over time, they became buddies in and out the field. Kuramochi is the person with the closest understanding of Miyuki and often ends up being irritated because of the latter's strange behavior. Upon confirming Miyuki's injury, who is his peer, classmate and closest thing to a friend he has at Seidou, Kuramochi prioritized Miyuki’s well-being and vowed (together with Shirasu Kenjirou) to stop him if it all goes wrong, even if it means diminishing their chances of winning the tournament and make Kataoka stay as their coach. However, he ended up demanding Miyuki to toughen up and crumble only after they win.Kuramochi to Miyuki in chapter 369. This shows Kuramochi's sort of sensitivity in regards to Miyuki's desires and nature. Sawamura Eijun Second to Miyuki, Eijun is his other buddy in a quite violent way. Kuramochi routinely wrestles with Eijun on any occasion which makes the latter suffer almost every night, given the fact they are roommates. He was also the first one who discovered Eijun's childhood friend, Wakana, and never stopped teasing him about it. On field, Kuramochi always kicks Eijun's butt to remind him to be calm or focused. Despite his bullying he cares for Sawamura. When Eijun acquired yips, Kuramochi was the first person to express his concern with Miyuki, who replied with cold reasoning. He is a sort of big brother figure to Eijun. Kominato Ryosuke Ryousuke was Kuramochi's partner in fielding, whom Kuramochi very closely understood, enough to anticipate his physical misgivings and cover for him. Ryousuke likewise could perform in the same capacity, were Kuramochi to falter.Their sackmate arrangement together was known as Seido's Iron Wall. He has high regards for him and was first to notice Ryousuke's injury. Despite contrary advice, Kuramochi stood behind Ryousuke's decision to continue playing with his injury. In the official OVA, Kuramochi's backstory as a first year is detailed, in which Ryousuke is first noted to scold him for lack of technique, stating, "へたくそ(romaji: hetakuso 'you suck')." It was evident that, in the formation of their sackmate pair, they hadn't had much chemistry from the start, and worked very hard to reach the level of intimacy exhibited by the time of Eijun's arrival at Seido. Kuramochi is one of only two people who calls Ryousuke by the shortened nickname "Ryou," adding his own personal honorific suffix of "-san." To an extent, the adding of "-san" can indicate an alienation and elevation of the person it is used with, meaning Kuramochi holds Ryousuke, despite being nicknamed endearingly, to a high regard outright. Ryousuke, styled "Ryou-san" by Kuramochi, has only ever been called a version of "Ryou" by his brother, Haruichi Kominato (who called him by "Ryou-chan" in their youth), indicating to just what degree of trust and familiarity they hold each other. Maezono Kenta At the end of the Summer tournament prelims, after the remaining third years retired, Kuramochi was chosen as the next vice captain together with Zono. Takashima Rei She recruited Kuramochi despite his yankee looks and reputation believing there is much more to his exterior personalityChapter 373.5 - Kuramochi's sidestory. Skills Kuramochi is a great runner who is the pride of Seidou. His best weapon is his speed. His top speed is almost on par with Carlos’s from Inajitsu. Opposing infielders can’t relax with his base stealing and even with an infield grounder. His base running is good, when he sees a gap in the defense he steals the next base. He's a player opponents don't want to put on the base the most. Batting A switch-hitter who bats from the right or from the left side depending on the opposing pitcher. He was given the advice to concentrate on batting from the left side, hit ground balls and that way get on base, but he won’t give up on switch-hitting to be closer to his ideal Kazuo (also a switch-hitter). His batting power is insufficient, but his base running sense is outstanding, he puts great pressure on his opponents when he gets on base. Defense He throws the ball quickly after catching it, his throwing is also stable. He was able to perfect his middle infield connection play with Kominato Ryosuke, that could put the professionals to shame. It seems Kominato Haruichi, who is giving too much importance to throwing a ball, is still not quick enough comparing to Ryousuke. Player Statistics *After summer tournament, batting average is .208 Trivia *Favorite Food: Steak, Omurice *Favorite Subject: Art, Modern National Language *He has respect for his mother and Matsui Kazuo. *His hobbies are playing fighting games and bullying Sawamura. *He was a problem child in middle school, which is why no high school in his hometown invited him, so he went to Tokyo. *His room is one of the rare ones in the dorm since the three people living there are members of the first string (Matsuko, Kuramochi, Sawamura), when the usual is to have 1, 2 or neither of the student been member of the 1st string. *He got the nickname: "Cheetah" (established by Sawamura), and hates to be called "Weasel". -From Guidebook rankings : *First in infield defense. *Second in Speed (but his time is better at short distance than Carlos) *Fifth in glove handling. Quotes *"I want to be the ace ... I want to bat clean up ... I want to be a regular and play in a game. Everyone comes here thinking that. But the truth is, there are only nine positions and close to a hundred players. The fittest make it and everyone else can only wait for the next chance. So we have to work hard for them too. You're not the only one who feels the pressure."Kuramochi to Eijun in chapter 6. *"Some tough bastard you are. Is it the sense of responsibility as the captain or the ego as a player? If you're that hell-bent on toughing it out, then make sure your determination lasts till the end. Crumble down only after we'll have won!"Kuramochi to Miyuki in chapter 369 *"He's unexpectedly sensible and good at taking care of others. If only he could hit better..."Miyuki's opinion of Kuramochi in the first Guidebook. Gallery kuramochi000.png|Kuramochi Youichi Kuramochi.png|Kuramochi Youchi Yoichi.kuramochi.png|Kuramochi welcoming Eijun. YouichiWrestling1.jpg|Kuramochi often rough plays with Sawamura. This is what he calls "Drop Kick!" tumblr_n8a8jrhbmd1rmmkpzo1_500.jpg bbbaaaee.png gasp.png|surprised Kuramochi Screenshot 2014-10-06 at 10.01.03 PM.png|Angry Kuramochi Screenshot 2014-10-04 at 7.09.19 PM.png spoopkuramochi.jpg|Kuramochi scaring Sawamura newic.png|Kuramochi ready to hit anything coming his way Screenshot 2014-09-26 at 1.40.47 AM.png Screenshot 2014-10-06 at 10.31.06 PM.png|Kuramochi stretching ffffff.png|More angry Kuramochi thelightofmylifetbh.png|Happy Kuramochi mochi.jpg References Navigation Category:Characters Category:Male Characters Category:Seidou High School Category:Shortstop